Narcissism
by trancepanda
Summary: When Scourge and Mephiles instigate a violent riot and subsequent breakout that leaves Zone Jail in ruin, Zonic recruits his Mobius Prime counterpart Sonic to help him gather up the escapees and stop whatever it is that they have planned. But that's easier said than done when Zonic is constantly getting distracted by how pretty Sonic's eyes are…
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything**

**Narcissism**

**Chapter One**

* * *

"wha—what happened?"

Zone Jail had been completely destroyed. Bodies of prisoners and guards alike littered the courtyard. Black smoke billowed from broken windows and cracked walls. Discarded control collars glittered dully on the blood-soaked ground. And there, on the far wall-

Zonic could feel his stomach begin to rebel against him and pressed his lips together firmly, taking deep breaths through his nose. He immediately regretted this decision as the coppery smell of blood, the cloying scent of death, and the acrid smell of smoke invaded his nostrils and locked his throat shut. For a moment he struggled to breath, throat clenching spastically and stomach heaving, before he turned and vomited, barely missing his regulation boots.

A group of people had been crucified on the far wall, held in place by crystalline powder blue spears. The bodies were badly mutilated but still recognizable; the skunk Jeffrey St. Croix, the former ruler Maxx Acorn, Smalls the Cat, the Warden Zobotnik and his assistant Znively. Foot high letters (written in drying blood) adorned the wall above the corpses.

'COME GET ME BLUE'

Zonic dry heaved once and wiped the back of his hand across his lips. Only one prisoner had ever had the nerve to call him Blue. Only one prisoner had a grudge against all five of those people on the wall. Only one prisoner would have been ballsy or stupid enough to leave a message that literally begged to be chased.

Scourge the Hedgehog.

But how had he orchestrated all of this? The green hedgehog wasn't stupid but he didn't have enough sway in the prison to instigate a riot, he must have had someone help him with the planning.

Who? That was the question.

Zonic skirted around the edge of the courtyard, avoiding the bodies as best he could and closing the eyelids of the guards he came across in a sign of respect. The door to the administrative building hung from one battered hinge and the blue hedgehog slipped inside, winding his way through the deserted building and into the security room.

The monitor flickered to life and Zonic rewound the security footage to the time of the riot, which was approximately five hours and three minutes ago. Without warning Scourge pounced on one of the guards, snapping his neck in one surprisingly fluid movement. His control collar fell away a moment later and Scourge tossed the electronic key card to…Mephiles. A curse slipped through Zonic's lips unnoticed. Mephiles, for love of Chaos, why did it have to be Mephiles? Every guard in the prison had been given a lecture on the danger the dark hedgehog posed to the prison and a specific set of instructions when it came to dealing with him. He was a menace, a danger to every Zone, and now he was free…this was worse than Zonic could have thought. The guards fell quickly on screen, overwhelmed by the prisoner's numbers and ferocity despite their superior training. Mephiles moved leisurely through the chaos, sending crystalline spears at guards and prisoners alike. As Zonic watched the dark hedgehog calmly stuck Maxx Acorn to the wall like a bug and he felt his stomach heave again. He swiveled in the chair as another set of cramps wracked his body; however his empty stomach failed to produce anything. After a minute of painful dry heaves he regained control of himself.

'_Chaos dammit! I'm a zone cop, I shouldn't be heaving every time I see violence! It's beneath me, an insult to my pride! Get a grip Zonic!'_

He gave himself a fortifying slap on the face (this was a habit he had continued for years, despite the strange looks his fellow cops often gave him) and turned back to the monitors. A small group of prisoners, being led by Scourge and Mephiles, appeared to have turned on the remaining prisoners. The hedgehog was treated to the unappealing sight of an un-named inmate (an arctic fox if the fur color was anything to go by) begging for his life before Scourge stomped down onto his head, displaying an amount of viciousness that Zonic had never seen the other hedgehog exhibit. The fox's body twitched twice before lying still.

"So…Mobius Prime then?" The dark-grey Echidna who had spoken sounded highly amused by the whole ordeal.

Zonic waited just long enough to see Mephiles nod in conformation before he flipped off the monitor.

He stood, stretched slightly to loosen up his back and then headed towards the court yard. If they were going to Mobius Prime that meant it probably had something to do with Sonic Prime, and Zonic had to get there first to warn him.

* * *

"…damn…" Scourge whistled appreciatively and pushed his shades up onto his forehead to get a good look at the veritable armory Mephiles had uncovered. Automatic weapons, hand grenades, mines, knives, almost every weapon imaginable; he even thought he saw a warhead or two tucked into a back corner.

The green hedgehog picked up a nearby pistol, cocked it, and raised it to eye level to look down the barrel.

"You could win a war with all this" he said, pantomiming taking shots at the other hedgehog.

Mephiles hummed neutrally and began to pack explosives into a duffel bag.

"Say…" Scourge shoved the pistol into his jacket's inner pocket and began to examine a banana clipped machine gun, "if you had all this lying around why the hell didn't you use it on Blue the first time?"

"My plans for this Zone are significantly different than my plans for the other."

"Oh Yeah? What's the plan?" Ice blue eyes strayed from the machine gun and landed on the shining black handle of a switchblade knife.

Mephiles zippered one duffle bag shut, set it gently on the ground and began to pack another, carefully stacking bricks of plastic explosive.

"I am going to distribute the arms and then wait for the inevitable to happen."

"The inevitable?"

"Violence is hardwired into our DNA, it's a part of our nature. Give people a gun, a bomb, a knife, and they will inevitably use it against their fellow man. We are all afflicted by a genetic pre-disposition for violence, a propensity towards murder. I am going to bring it to the surface."

"So basically," the green hedgehog scratched an ear and screwed up his face in thought (if his facial expression was anything to go by Scourge found the activity of thinking relatively painful). After a moment his face cleared and a sharp-toothed smile stretched across his face, "You're gonna hand out guns like candy and wait for everyone to kill each other?"

Mephiles muzzle twitched in annoyance and his eyes narrowed, "ineloquently put, but yes."

Suddenly the smile melted off of Scourge's face and a scowl replaced it, "Hey wait a minute! Who the hell am I gonna be the king of if you have everyone kill each other?" he spat angrily, one hand already reaching into his jacket for 'his' pistol.

Whatever murderous intentions that the green hedgehog had were cut off with surgical precision as Mephiles shot the younger hedgehog a deathly poisonous look and his muzzle twitched violently. His voice came out low, fast, contemptuous and slightly sibilant, "You can rule over the corpses for all I care"

For a moment Scourge held Mephiles' gaze and then dropped his eyes, muttering sulkily.

The dark hedgehog scoffed slightly, zippered the final duffel bag, hefted the other off the floor and walked towards the exit.

"Come," he called imperiously over his shoulder, "We're going to pay a visit to Bean the Dynamite"

"Bean the Dynamite? What the hell do you want with that pipsqueak?" Scourge asked sulkily. He slowly followed Mephiles, looking more like a petulant child than a 17 year old.

"I am carrying two bags of extremely potent explosives. Please use whatever minuscule mental capacity you posses and try to figure it out."

* * *

A/N: and that, ladies and gents is the first chapter! Now I'm not one hundred percent on whether or not there are guns in Sonic's Universe but, for the sake of the plot, there are going to be guns in this story. If it's going to bother you to the point where you can't read or enjoy the story please feel free to think that Mephiles brought the guns in from another Zone. Also, while it had been confirmed (by Ian Flinn who is one of the comic's writers) that the events of Sonic 06 happened in the comics for the sake of this story it happened in a different Zone.

Anyhow, please review (your reviews make me feel all fuzzy inside and inspire quicker updates!) and I shall see you next time.

Fare thee well,

Trancepanda


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything**

**Narcissism**

**Chapter 2**

* * *

"Why the hell are we doing this Bean?" Nack the Weasel's irritated voice broke through Bean's mindless chatter.

Bean looked up from the lump of plastic explosive he was fiddling with,

"Because scary dark hedgehog guy asked us to! And he gave me these cool bombs and I wanna see them explode! I bet it'll be great! I remember this one time—"

The little green duck set off on another high-speed tangent that both the other members of Team Hooligan promptly tuned out. Nack looked around for valuables that he could make off with and easily ignored the glare Bark was giving him for setting Bean off again. The wolf/weasel hybrid was in the middle of figuring out the likelihood of fitting what looked like a small computer system into the _Marvelous Queen _when Bean stood up from his crouch.

"okey-dokey guys we're all set. I can't wait to see it go!" he paused and looked at the detonator in his hands, "maybe I don't have to wait, what do you guys think? Set it off? Okay, set it off! Got it!"

Before the hyperactive duck could press the almost stereotypically large red button on the detonator Bark calmly plucked it out of his hands. The duck began to rant again and tried to grab it back.

"Oh, shut up Bean." Nack said irritably

He mounted the _Marvelous Queen_ (stolen computer system included) and took off moments before Bean's thrown grenade exploded, leaving a slightly singed Bark with the now indignant and ranting Bean.

* * *

"So…you're telling me that Scourge and Mephiles wrecked Zone Jail, escaped with a group of crazies, and they're here now?"

Sonic scratched the side of his head and cocked his head inquisitively. Zonic, on the other hand, resisted the urge to slam his head through the nearest tree. Why, oh why, did his Mobius Prime counterpart have to be so slow on the uptake?

"Yes" he said through gritted teeth, "and they're going to cause a lot of trouble unless we catch them first"

"Zonic, buddy, are you sure you've been sleeping alright lately?" Sonic looked at the Zone cop with concern, "I mean it's not that I don't believe you but…"

"Sleeping alright?! Sleeping alright?! For the love of Chaos, sleeping alright?! Of course I haven't! My friends are dead, Zone Jail is wrecked, and a group of psychopaths are out here doing who knows what?!"

Zonic cut himself off and ran a hand over his eyes. He took several deep breaths and struggled to reign in his emotions. In all honesty he hadn't been sleeping at all; he knew it showed too, his eyes were ringed with almost black bags.

"Look," he said, struggling to keep his voice level and controlled, "My sleeping patterns are not the issue here. The issue is that there is an extremely dangerous psychopath and an almost competent delinquent running around your Zone. You know this Zone best and," he paused and ground his teeth together, Chaos he hated admitting this, "I need your help"

Sonic stared at him for another couple seconds before smiling, "Well since you actually admitted you need my help."

Zonic scowled and resisted the uncharacteristic urge to knock the smile off Prime's face.

"So who are the other guys that escaped?"

The Zone cop pulled a folder from the rucksack he had packed before leaving his own Zone,

"Besides Mephiles and Scourge there were Non-Prime versions of Sleuth Dog, Drago Wolf, Ray the Flying Squirrel, as well as two inmates that I didn't recognize. I don't know what any of them were imprisoned for, someone erased the prisoner's database, but if they're working with Mephiles it can be assumed that they are highly dangerous."

Sonic scratched his head again, "So what do we do then? What's the plan?"

If Zonic didn't have his pride he would have simply admitted that he didn't have a plan. Instead he scowled heavily and muttered something about working on it.

* * *

"I'm gonna do what now?!" Scourge spat.

"You are going to get your pathetic excuse for a gang back together and go act like the worthless delinquents you are" Mephiles repeated, narrowing his eyes as his voice dropped several octaves.

"Delinquent! Why you son of a bi—"

Mephiles violently seized the green hedgehog by the throat, cutting off his expletive halfway. Scourge's smile was positively feral and he jammed his pistol against the dark hedgehog's breastbone.

"Just try me asshole" Scourge choked out, eyes bulging slightly from stain.

Mephiles tightened his grip slightly and leaned his head forward

"What makes you think I would trust you with a loaded gun?"

Scourge gaped at that and before he could react Mephiles had smacked the gun out of his hand, grabbed him by the wrist and throat, and slammed him against the wall.

"Listen to me very carefully you insignificant little worm, you will stop this insolence at once. The only reason you didn't die in prison is because you are useful. That doesn't make you invaluable. You will do exactly what I say exactly when I say it or you will find out just how painful it is to die," the dark hedgehog tightened his grip further, "Do you understand?"

Scourge attempted to choke something out but Mephiles tightened his grip further, "just nod you simpleton I have no desire to hear your grating voice"

The green hedgehog's eyes bulged and his face started to darken from lack of oxygen but he managed a painful nod.

Mephiles released him and the teen crumpled to the floor bonelessly. The dark hedgehog wiped his hands against his legs as if touching Scourge had sullied him.

"Now then, you will get your old gang of miscreants back together. If you can't convince them then force them. I'm sure there is at least one that you wish you could kill."

"Y-yeah," Scourge coughed up a bit of blood and ran a hand over his quills shakily, "M-Miles, that asshole screwed me over."

Mephiles hummed neutrally, "Then kill him. The fear of death will keep them in line."

The teen staggered to his feet and leaned heavily against the wall, panting, "I'm...gonna…kill….you….motherfucker"

The dark hedgehog snorted derisively, "As if anything as worthless as you could harm me"

Mephiles walked calmly from the room, leaving Scourge coughing up blood and already plotting revenge.

* * *

A/N: And that is the second chapter! Some feedback would be completely amazing so please don't forget to review! Also, as a heads up, the Scourge x Manic fic _Hail to the King_ has been posted so check it out. The Sonic x Jet story is still in the works but I promise the first chapter will be out soon.

Anyway, later

trancepanda


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything**

**Narcissism**

**Chapter 3**

* * *

Sanity and Scourge had never been close friends. At most they could be described as casual acquaintances. But after the betrayal of the Suppression Squad, being incarcerated, the systematic abuse from Smalls the Cat, and prolonged exposure to the corrosive entity known as Mephiles, Scourge and sanity were like the kids who had a class together one term and now awkwardly said 'hi' in the hallways.

To put it in a metaphor free, easy to understand way, Scourge was basically batshit.

This became painfully apparent to the remaining members of the Suppression Squad when the green hedgehog stepped out of the portal Mephiles had opened with a pistol in one hand and a switch blade knife in the other.

"Ah, home sweet home, Castle Acorn," Scourge drawled. Ice blue eyes looked around the dining room slowly and a crazy smile stretched his face, baring sharp teeth. The Suppression Squad leapt up from their chairs, almost identical looks of shock adorning their features.

"Scourge! How the he—"

"Sit down and shut the fuck up you stupid fucking squirrel," Scourge spat viciously, he backhanded the approaching squirrel with the hand holding the knife. The force of the slap knocked her off of her feet and with a surprised cry of pain she hit the ground.

"GET THE HELL UP!"

The green hedgehog swung out his foot in a short vicious arc that hit her in the side, keeping his gun trained on the shocked onlookers. Alicia gasped in pain and scrambled away from him. The green hedgehog fired a bullet into the ground next to her and screamed at her again to get up. When she didn't move fast enough for him he stepped forward, seized her by the collar (either ignoring or not caring that his knife came dangerously close to cutting her.) and threw her into a chair.

Scourge sneered at her for a moment and then began to look around again, "Miles!," he crowed, "Where are you buddy? Come on out, let's talk!"

The yellow fox stepped to the front. He looked remarkably well-composed, the only signs he was nervous were his slightly messy hair and slightly too-wide eyes.

"Scourge, what are you doing here?" he asked his voice shaking slightly with repressed fear.

Scourge's smile widened and he lifted the gun up to shoulder level, "Nothing you need to worry about"

The fox's eyes widened in understanding and he opened his mouth to protest.

*CRACK*

The top of Miles head disappeared in a cloud of blood, bone, and brain matter. His body dropped bonelessly to the floor. Several members of the Suppression Squad cried out in horror and Scourge let the gun drop casually back to his side.

"Now then," he looked around, eyes twinkling in cold amusement, "we've got business to discuss."

The green hedgehog cocked the hammer of the pistol again and the remaining members of the Suppression Squad shuddered collectively.

* * *

Manik Acorn, son of King Sonic and Queen Sally, was racing through the streets of the Kingdom of Acorn on his way to get something to eat. Well, to be completely honest he was running away from his mom who wanted him to do…well, something. He hadn't really been listening. But, in any case, he was avoiding his mom AND getting something to eat.

The preteen snorted, _'and Sonia says I can't multitask'._

He turned a sharp corner and crashed into a solid body with enough force to throw the boy off his feet.

"Hey watch where you're going jerk" he muttered.

He looked up and promptly regretted his words. Standing in front of him were two of the largest men he had ever seen. Both of them wore orange prison jumpsuits that rippled with the movements of their muscles. Neither of the men acknowledged Manik's statement but the large white wolf turned to his companion.

"That him?" he asked gruffly.

The brown dog with mismatched eyes nodded.

"hehe…yeah,well…I'm just gonna go…sorry about bumping into you" Manik began to back away, his heart fluttering a mile-a-minute. Something was wrong here, his gut was telling him so, something was very, _very_ wrong. The feeling of wrongness spiked as he took another step back and bumped against another solid body. He gasped in pain as he felt a needle being stuck into him. What felt like ice-cold fire was being pushed into his veins and the world began to grow fuzzy almost immediately. He turned to see a dark-grey echidna smiling at him, an empty syringe held aloft in one hand.

"Sorry," he drawled amusedly, "Couldn't have you running off now could we?"

The world seemed to be slowing down, spinning and darkening. Manik tried to take a step with shoes that felt like they were filled with concrete and began to fall. The street rushed up to meet him.

* * *

"Who the hell is this kid?"

Scourge nudged the small blue hedgehog with the toe of his shoe. The kid stirred fitfully but didn't wake up.

Mephiles eyed the green hedgehog speculatively, he didn't much care what happened to the child but it wouldn't do for Scourge to snap and destroy one of his toys. The mortal seemed to be much calmer and more levelheaded since returning from Castle Acorn but the dark hedgehog took a step closer so that he could restrain the other man if need be.

"That is Manik Acorn, the son of Sonic the Hedgehog."

Scourge whistled incredulously, "Blue has a kid?"

"In the very distant future, yes. I trust things went well with the Suppression Squad?"

Mephiles answer came in the form of a psychotic grin and a happy nod. Satisfied, the immortal turned to leave. He was almost out the door when Scourge spoke again.

"Hey, how can Blue's future kid be here if we're gonna kill his dad?"

"I don't have the time to explain the intricacy of both Zone and Time travel to you. Let us say that it is far beyond your level of understanding and leave it at that."

Scourge growled and reached for his gun, but a shaky voice stopped him.

"D…Dad?"

* * *

**A/N: UGH I AM SO SORRY! This chapter took forever and I couldn't even get it to a state where I considered it anything other than passable (writers block is, without a doubt, one of the biggest bitches I know) sorry again, I'll do my best to update more often (and with longer chapters; a chapter this short is just a onetime thing I promise)**

**Sorry once more,**

**trancepanda**


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